


REAPER MAN

by ratmilk



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Grim reaper au, Lots of character death, M/M, Some themes will be dark but there's not much angst, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Yuta is a flirt and Mark is NOT having it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23884684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratmilk/pseuds/ratmilk
Summary: In which Mark dies, becomes a ghost, meets the Grim Reaper, and realizes he's gay?
Relationships: Mark Lee/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	REAPER MAN

Something is very, very wrong, Mark thinks, as he looks down at his own body  
sprawled out and bloodied in the middle of the road.

His friend Daniel, who was originally waiting for him across the street, is now on his knees beside his body looking as panicked as anyone who just watched their friend get flung 10 feet in the air by a speeding vehicle would look. The culprit, an awful looking yellow Toyota Prius, parked not too far from the scene, a splash of red painting the new dent on the hood of the car.

The owner is a middle-aged woman, who is yelling manically into her Iphones microphone at whichever unlucky shmuck down at the police station picked up the call. A few people are lingering, eyeing his corpse faces painted in either repugnance or shock, except one guy, who looks a little too excited for Marks liking.  
Mark scoffs to himself, he's never experienced a lucid dream before. It's kind of cool because that's what this is right? A lucid dream? There's no way he legit died and became a ghost like that.

But the longer he stands there, the more the latter makes sense. The ambulance and police come, he watches his unmoving body wheeled away covered in a white sheet. He watches Daniel get in a police car and taken away- not arrested- just taken.

Nobody has yet to notice him standing there, nobody has even looked at him. He knows he must be invisible.

It's all getting a little too surreal and Mark would very much like to wake up now.

So he does the only thing he knows to do in this situation: pinches himself.

The feeling is weird- a pinch without pain, he finds himself squeezing his pale mailable skin between his fingers as hard as possible.

A hand on his shoulder shocks him and he goes flying, arms lifting into fists and entering front stance ready to knock a nigga out.

"That was awesome." the sociopath from before that was smiling at his dead body approves brightly, not even flinching at Mark's defensive stance.

Mark's fists drop to his sides, brows knitting together, "You can see me? Am I-Am I dreaming?"

The guy laughs, an amused 'haha' bubbling from his throat, "You're dead, didn't you see all that shit that just happened?"

So, he is dead?

This is a lot different than he'd thought it would be. Not the endless abyss of nothingness nor the fiery pits of hell. His body feels impossibly light as if it's not there, and oh right- it's not. But when he looks down he can see it, his bloodied basketball shorts and t-shirt. He doesn't feel it though.

"But to be honest," the man starts, eyeing him up and down before looking at the splat of blood staining the concrete of the road, "it wasn't your time yet, so sorry for that."

Mark stares at the man incredulously, "Not my time?"

"Yeah, you should be in heaven by now... Not- standing there looking creepy." He shrugs his shoulders, hands digging into the giant pocket in the front of his grey hoodie and pulling out a book that was way too big to have just been in his pocket. The book is black but the pages are dark red. He drops the book to the ground with a loud thump and the book whips open, pages turning in quick succession as if being moved by the rogue breeze. Mark glances around to see if anybody is getting a glimpse of whatever harry potter shit is happening right on the side of the road. A couple is walking their dog on the other side of the street seemingly unbothered, and some cars passing also not rolling down their windows in awe at the ghost and random ( _pretty_ , Marks brain uselessly supplies) guy staring down at a giant book.

Now Mark knows they definitely are invisible.

"Wait-"

"Shhh." The man hisses, pointer finger reaching up to press Mark's lips, eyes not leaving the book. Mark slaps the hand away from his face in offense.

The pages stop turning and land on an empty page. They both watch on in silence as ink slowly begins to manifest and fill the open book, like some doubly-invisible (is doubly a word?) force was writing in a language Mark doesn't recognize.

"Ah-ha!" The other man says, eyes glittering in satisfaction, "I knew it, you were supposed to die at age 74 from Influenza."

"But- I'm only 21!"

"Someone up there was slacking off," the man says, fingers tapping on the book and lips tightening into a line.

"So what am I supposed to do now?"

"You sure do have a lot of questions." He slams the book shut, standing and shoving it into his black hole of a hoodie pocket, "I'm Yuta, reaper of this sector. For the next 60 or so years your not allowed into the afterlife so-"

"You're what? A Reaper?"

"Can you just shut up and listen? Jesus fucking Christ kid." Yuta rolls his eyes, turning and walking down the sidewalk. After he gets a few steps he turns and nods for Mark to follow him.

"Okay, since your guardian angel is probably up there getting high like the stoner he is and we can't just stick you back in your body after you've left it, you have to stay on this plane for a while." Yuta stops suddenly, looking around before going off the sidewalk and down a grassy hill, "Before you ask, his name is Johnny and he's kind of an asshole if you ask me."

Mark listens intently, wanting to ask a million questions but restraining until the man stops his monologue.

"Anyways, the lazy fucker let you die so don't be mad at me. I just came because I got a notification that someone died and needed guidance to the afterlife."

"Can I ask you questions now?"

Yuta doesn't say anything, just pushes the leafy branches out of the way so he can walk through an overgrown path Mark had never seen before.

"If I cant go to the afterlife what do I do?"

"I suppose you can keep me company?" Yuta offers, "As, like an assistant, I've been looking for a new one ever since Sicheng ditched me for that job in hell."

Yuta leads him into an old and decrepit graveyard, the majority of the tombs are cracked and grown over with plants.

"Just because it pays better and has more vacation he thinks he can just fucking up and leave, after everything I've-"

Mark interrupts his rant with a startled squeal when he sees a ghastly looking teenaged girl sitting cross-legged on top of a tomb. Her clothes aren't from this century, a dirty old ripped white pajama dress, she's wearing no shoes and her face is slightly bruised, along with her legs and arms. But the most notable thing about her appearance is the long noose wound tight around her thin neck.

"Hello Yerim, it's been a while."

She opens her eyes slowly blinking down at them both from her perch, "Yuta!" Her voice is soft and has an echo to it, "yes, it has been so long."

She floats from the top of the tomb with a smile on her translucent face, she meets Mark's eyes and says, "A friend for me?"

Mark's eyes widen and a chill travels down his nonexistent spine, he finds himself shuffling behind Yuta a bit. Yerim giggles, soft and bubbly, "He's afraid."

"Ah- this is Mark," He moves to the side, slaps Mark on his back hard enough for the boy to stumble forward, "He just died like-" Yuta looks down at his bare wrist, "30 minutes ago."

Yerim claps her hands together excitedly, "So I'm the first spirit he's met?"

She bows to him, "I'm Yeri, I died 72 years ago nice to meet you, Mark."

70 years? She must've been in this graveyard for a long ass time. Mark feels a little bad now for being so intimidated by her, she's just a kid- grandmother?

"Yerim is going to the afterlife in two years actually, she was supposed to live until age 87." Yuta states, with a somber shake of his head, "Her story is kind of like yours, died before her time because her angel wasn't paying enough attention."

Before his brain to mouth filter activates Mark blurts out, "What happened?" and instantly regrets it.

Yeri's smile drops from her pretty face instantly, replaced with something dark, "I was kidnapped from my bed and murdered."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Mark mumbles, "So.. Why are you out here all alone?"  
The smile returns as if it never left and Mark feels as if he might get whiplash from all these emotions, he might be crazy but he thinks he can feel them leaking off of her.

"I'm not alone, a few other spirits are wandering around, we call this home base." She holds her arm out gesturing towards the rest of the graveyard.

It's a beautiful place in a macabre kind of way, colorful wildflowers sprouting around the abandoned grave markers. Surrounded by lush green forest, rays of warm sunlight shining through their branches, pollen glitters through the air, and for once Mark doesn't sneeze.

"I brought Mark here so he will know where to go if he decides he doesn't want to work for me."

"Ah, I see. Finally moving on from Sicheng." She giggles, nudging Yuta in the ribs with her elbow, "He's a cute one."

The silver-haired Reaper glares at her, but it does nothing to deter the glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

"So Mark, do you accept my offer?"

Suddenly put on the spot Mark shakes his head, "W-Wait... What will I do as your assistant in the first place? This is all happening kind of quick-"

Yuta waves him off, "Just help out here and there, c'mon I promise it will be worth it, and you will get a fuckton of good karma."

"Say yes Mark!" Yeri adds excitedly, Mark flinches having forgotten she was there. The ghost really lacks presence.

He exhales, "Fine." He grumbles. Yuta smiles brightly, and Mark feels the dread rolling around in the pit of his stomach dissipate.

_What's the worst that can happen?_

_🖤🖤🖤_

**Author's Note:**

> [i made twt cuz maybe it will motivate me to write.](https://twitter.com/kisumi717)


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